Hannah and Chuck
by poloboy209
Summary: Hannah is my favourite among all of Chuck's flings, she has this poise to her and a great personality. Please read and review, bad reviews are appreciated over good ones language,plot etc  i feel that the show really undermined Hannah as a character.
1. Chapter 1

"God I miss Hannah…" Chuck muttered sadly. After the whole breaking up with her the night after they slept together, things just went downhill. Hannah left the Buy More obviously. She also changed her handphone number, address and pretty much any means of finding her. Heck, Chuck wasn't even sure that Castle could track her down now. Life sucks.

He missed her so much, it hurt. He missed the way her shiny chestnut brown hair would bounce when she walked; the way she smiled, revealing a flash of her pearly white teeth; he especially missed her enthusiasm. She had this unique way of getting what she wanted, it was both intoxicating and addictive at the same time. She had a natural grace that made everyone else, even Sarah, seem uncouth, she was just too graceful and posh.

Being a spy sucked pretty bad right now. Chuck always thought that being a spy would be so cool. You get the cool shades, the wild parties and the pretty spy girls. But now, he'd trade all that away for a second chance with Hannah. Too bad the government has not invented a time machine yet.

"Hey," Chuck's reverie was broken by a familiar voice. He looked up from his Nerd Herd desk and saw Sarah standing there in her Orange Orange outfit with a cup of yogurt in one hand. Seeing Sarah made Chuck feel worse, she represented every reason why he and Hannah never worked. The government.

"Hey." Chuck said listlessly before lowering his gaze again. A frown developed on Sarah's face creating wrinkles on her forehead. It wasn't that Chuck did not like Sarah anymore, he just moved on. They stood in awkward silence for a full minute before Chuck finally raised his eyes to look at her. Recently, he has been having trouble looking her in the eye, it was just too painful.

Sarah extended her arm which held the yogurt to Chuck. He stared at the white cup, as if judging whether it was poisoned before accepting it. The yogurt was a light yellow color; Chuck guessed it was lemon, his favorite. It was peppered with crushed nuts and was swirled into perfect tip.

Chuck sighed, thinking of Hannah again. All the times he postponed giving her the Bartowski tour made him guilty. She always wore a sad look on her face when he ran off to 'yogurt time'. His heart ached each time he saw that face, but the fate of the world had to come first. An icy sensation woke him from his daze; he looked down to see a drop of yogurt flowing down his hand. Sighing, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately; he set the frozen treat down and reached for a tissue. After meticulously wiping his hand, he noticed that Sarah was still standing at his desk watching him.

"Is there a mission?" he asked nonchalantly. After Hannah, he has been avoiding the spy world as much as possible. Practically the only time he ever saw Shaw or Sarah was when there was a mission. Even then, he maintained an absolutely professional demeanor. It was just easier that way. Casey, he couldn't avoid seeing, the guy works at the Buy More and he was Chuck's ride to work every day.

Sarah shook her head gently, causing her blonde locks to sway lightly. "I just wanted to see how you were handling the whole – Hannah situation." She said with her usual tone of indifference. "The first time is always the hardest. But it gets easier, I promise." She added. Her petite hand reached out to grab Chuck's but he quickly pulled it away. Her touch felt like poison to him now. Her shoulders dropped slightly and she turned to leave.

Chuck's head had barely dipped when another familiar voice called out to him. "What was that about?" Chuck pursed his lips and looked up. In front of him where Sarah was just standing was Morgan, the new assistant manager of the Buy More, with his thumb over his shoulder gesturing towards Sarah. Morgan had short black hair both on his head and face. A grey tweed sweater vest covered his now pale-yellow button up shirt. Below his belt, he wore a pair of matching grey pants.

"Oh – nothing." A pencil had found its way into Chuck's hand and it was now spinning idly. A weak smile was plastered over Chuck's face as he looked at his miniature friend. "Sarah just brought me some yogurt." Chuck lifted up the cup of yogurt to show Morgan.

"You look pretty tired man, you sure you okay? Is it ex-girlfriend stuff? I'm total cool if you want to pack up and check out early you now?" Morgan asked with genuine concern. Not for the first time, Chuck thanked the heavens for having Morgan as a friend. Even if the whole world discarded him, he knew he'd always have Morgan.

After pondering it for a minute, Chuck decided that Jeff and Lester could handle the Nerd Herd desk for a day. Sifting through what few customers the Buy More actually had, Chuck walked out through the sliding glass doors into the heat of mid-day.

It was hot, even by Burbank standards. Not even the slightest breeze graced the air today, instead spirals of heat curled up from the ground. Thermometers in every home would be sweating by now. Chuck stood there impatiently waiting for a cab to come by.

Chuck was sorely tempted to take one of the Buy More's Nerd Herders just to end this torture. As he turned, the rumble of a car's engine roared behind him. The car that pulled over was a convertible. It was red and shiny; Chuck could practically see himself in its doors. Black leather seats filled the car and in the driver's seat sat a lady with a head of chestnut brown hair.

"Would you like a ride?"


	2. Chapter 2

The world is full of 'if only's; if only Chuck was not roommates with Bryce; if only Chuck never met Jill; if only Chuck had looked up to see the look on Sarah's face when he got into Hannah's car.

Chuck felt inadequate, wanting even. It was not an unfamiliar feeling for Chuck; after all he was a Buy More employee. But this particular feeling was accentuated by Hannah. She possessed this unearthly grace, this ethereal poise. In every movement, every breath, every blink, it made Chuck feel unworthy. He did not deserve her, the fact that he broke up with her the day after sleeping with her only supports this statement. Right now, he felt that he did not even deserve to be sitting in the same car as her.

"Nice car," Chuck commented, desperately trying to end the awkward silence that had filled the drive so far.

"Thanks," Hannah replied dryly. As much as he tried not to, his eyes wandered to her. She was wearing a loose fitting light-blue blouse with a thick white belt around her waist. Her brown hair was slightly longer than before and her nails were smooth and clear, devoid of any paint. Soft colors highlighted her features; a light pink on her lips; a touch of blush on her cheek and a brush of eye-shadow above her eyes. She was in every definition of the word, beautiful.

Unfortunately, her body language screamed hostility. Her shoulders were tense and raised; her arms were rigid and stiff. Chuck could tell that she was uncomfortable, the question was why. "How'd you afford it?"

The petite brunette turned to look at Chuck for a moment and then turned back to face the road. "I got a new job, one that pays well." The scenery was starting to become familiar to Chuck; he knew they were reaching his house soon. In a desperate attempt to gain her forgiveness, he panicked.

"Look, I'm sorry for dumping you the day after we – did it, but I was doing it for your own good. Things just weren't right for us back then, if we had continued to go out, I would have had to keep lying to you and I am sorry but I just cannot do that." He said firmly. The red sports car pulled into Chuck's condo, parking right next to the fountain. Hannah hesitated for a moment, contemplating her every word before turning towards Chuck.

"Chuck…" she started and was then abruptly cut off by Chuck's blabbering mouth.

"Anyway, look how well you're doing now. The Buy More was holding you back, I was holding you back. This break-up worked out well for the both of us didn't it?"

Chuck only stopped because a small, delicate hand reached up to cover his mouth. "Chuck" she repeated. "I didn't come here to fight or to point fingers. I just have one question to ask."

A muffled sound came out of Chuck's throat, one that sounded suspiciously like "What!" The hand that subdued Chuck's mouth was removed and to emphasize how much Chuck hated that and also to gain a few sympathy points he started to maneuver his jaw. Seeing how his plan failed, he stopped and stared straight into her eyes. "What is it?"

Her perfect lips seemed to purse for a second, as if hesitating and then, "Why?". It came out timidly, like a little orphan asking why her parents would abandon her. It sounded almost as if she was scared.

"I told you, I love you and I would have gladly taken it further – except the rest of the world just wouldn't let me. But I want you to know, it wasn't you it was me." He said slowly. In his mind he was repeating, "Stupid government…stupid government." He closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose and waited for her reply.

"I see," her tone was professional now; all traces of weakness had evaporated. Brown steel filled her irises and her face showed no emotion. "Well, it was good seeing you again; I hope you have a good life." Chuck took her hint and exited her car.

The car roared to life as Hannah turned the key in the ignition. She reached out a hand to shake his while she intentionally looked away feigning indifference. "Can we at least be friends?" Chuck asked timidly. It felt almost alien to him now, after becoming a spy, all fear was driven out of his body. Sure he was nervous at times, most times in fact, but this, this was something different, this was fear.

Hannah paused, thinking of her next step. Eventually, she held out a card to him and said two glorious words, "one drink". Inside, Chuck was dancing for joy; he was a fire cracker of ecstasy. The only thing holding him back from wildly jumping around, cheering was that if he did Hannah would probably never speak to him again and he would be back to square one.

The red car drove off in a blur, speeding out the doorway. After it had travelled a safe distance away, Chuck called Sarah to come out. The blond spy came out of Casey's apartment followed by, to Chuck's surprise, Casey himself. "Nice one, Bartowski", Casey admitted gruffly.

Before Sarah could say a word, Chuck ran off, slamming the door of his apartment behind him. He leaned against the door, breathing hard. He could not face Sarah right now, it would be too hard. There was a limit to the emotional trauma a man could take before passing out and that limit was reached the second he saw Hannah in her car.

Despite, Sarah's pleas and cries, Chuck kept the door of his apartment closed. He even pulled out a couple of video and audio jammers he had built from spare parts in the Buy More. No surveillance today, Casey. When everything was in place, Chuck sat on his sofa and pulled his knees into his face, rocking like a baby. Today was just too much, even for a spy.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days went by slowly; time seemed to crawl by, happy to torture Chuck as much as possible. Chuck had managed to avoid seeing Sarah though, whenever she came over to the Buy More with yogurt, he would escape to the employees' lounge. When she came over to his house, he would find refuge in working overtime or even just sitting at a pub. Now that he was an agent, he was no longer required to wear his CIA watch. Thank god for that, hiding would have been impossible if Sarah had been able to track him down whenever she felt like it. It seemed fate was on his side, even though time was not, Shaw had not called them in for any missions, for once the world seemed content to cut Chuck a break. There was only one thing left to decide, to call or not to call.

"I'm only going to ask nicely once more, where's Chuck?" Sarah asked practically screaming by now. She was pissed, not only did Hannah come back but now Chuck was avoiding her full-time. The only time she ever got to see him now was through the security feed in the Buy More, thanks to his stupid little jammers, she could not even check up on him at his house.

Morgan mumbled something incoherent in reply to Sarah's demands and this pissed her off even further. She had been coming to Chuck's house for the past four days looking for him, and each time Morgan would give the same answer, "He's not in."

It was ridiculous; a girl like her should not have to visit a guy like Chuck's house every day just hoping to talk to him. She was Sarah Walker for Christ sake. To top things off, Shaw refused to call Chuck in for any of the meetings they had, claiming it was 'unnecessary'.

Getting up, she stalked off towards her car. Her Porsche was parked in the exact same spot Hannah's had been four days ago. She got into her car and drove off deciding to check the Buy More and a couple of bars she knew Chuck frequented. Thanks for nothing, Morgan.

Her first stop was definitely the Buy More; Chuck was a workaholic these days. He seemed to spend more time at the Buy More than he did at home. Sarah did not even know what Chuck was avoiding; I mean it's not as if Sarah was going to kill him. She was simply going to 'shake' a little sense into him, if that involved roughing him up, well he is a tough guy. And better she rough him up now than when he has to break things off with Hannah again. He can never go through that again; and if Chuck does not have the sense to see that, she will just have to put some sense into him.

Ignoring the lewd gazes of the Buy More staff, Sarah marched her way to Big Mike's office. Putting on a sad girlfriend face, she burst through the doors, only to find Chuck sitting there with Big Mike. This was not what she had planned for, abort! Abort!

An immediate change of plans was needed; normally she would have been come up with a new plan in seconds. But because, Chuck was sitting there, being all cute, her brain stalled. Curse Chuck and his distracting good looks, curse him. "Can I help you?" Big Mike finally asked.

"Yes well… I need to speak to Chuck." Sarah said a little shakily. Big Mike turned his gaze toward his favorite employee and gestured for him to go. "Thank you Big Mike, I owe you a box of doughnuts" Sarah thought, seeing as if Chuck had no way to escape. A smirk formed on Sarah's lips as she grabbed Chuck's hand and led him outside.

And as fate would proclaim it, Hannah decides to walk into the Buy More. "Perfect," Sarah thought, she was going to kill two birds with one stone. All she needed to do was scare off Hannah over there and mark her territory. Then, just show a little cleavage to Chuck and batter her eyes and he would be as good as hers. Sorry Chuck, as much as I hate to control you, it's for your own good.

Chuck must have seen Hannah because he quickly grabbed Sarah's hand and dragged her away, into the Employee lounge. Sarah knew what he was doing but allowed him to lead her away. His hand in hers felt good, almost like his touch warmed her on the inside. She had missed this. Shaw was nice and their relationship was intimate to say the least but he didn't have the same effect Chuck had on her. It just was not the same.

In the sanctuary of the Employee lounge, Chuck returned to his usual submissive self. He shirked away from her choosing to stand at the opposite side of the room. This sent a pang of sadness through Sarah, was he that desperate to get away from her. "No matter" she thought, "this will all be over once I handle little Hannah out there."

But before Sarah could start grilling Chuck, he turned the tables. "What do you want?" he asked, a little forcefully. Sarah was taken aback, one moment he was hiding from her, now he was standing up to her. Something is really wrong with Chuck. "Hello?"

Chuck's question broke Sarah's chain of thought and she was a little irritated. "What do I want? What do I want? I want to know why you've been avoiding me. That's what I want." He must not have been expecting that because his confidant façade crumbled in that instant. All his bravado shattered and for a while he became the old Chuck Bartowski again.

"I don't know w-what you're talking about." he finally managed.

"Oh – don't even give me that, you know exactly what you've been doing." Sarah continued, the more she said the angrier she got. Who was chuck to avoid her? "I want you to tell me what's going on right now!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Fine…" Chuck reached a hand up to rub the bridge of his nose, trying in vain to stifle the encumbering headache that was threatening to build up. Sarah crossed her arms, tilted her head slightly and waited for her reply. Stalling for time, Chuck looked desperately for a way out. Anything beat having to explain himself to Sarah. "As you know, Hannah looked me up," as he said Hannah he winced, expecting a hit from Sarah. Since no his cheek remained burn free, he continued. "She wanted to know why I dumped her. And of course I couldn't tell her about the Intersect. Miraculously after I was done babbling like an idiot, she was still around and she even gave me her number. So now…I'm kinda debating whether to call her or not."

"I see." Sarah said rather stiffly. This left Chuck in a stupor, she should be pissed. Or at least, he thinks she should be pissed. She is always mad whenever Chuck gains female attention. Then again, why should she be angry? It's not like they were in a committed relationship. Seems like Chuck's paranoia was uncalled for, there was nothing to fear.

His stupefied state prevented him from noticing Sarah's departure. Thankfully, she took the secret entrance to the Castle; at least she had the courtesy to save Chuck from explaining himself to Hannah.

Hannah was not sure why she went to the Buy More that day; Chuck was a thing of her past, a bad experience and nothing more. So why she always so drawn to him, there was always seemed to be a force pulling her towards him. The night when he broke up with her was the single most painful night of her life. It crushed every faction of her, eating away the recesses of her soul, leaving her an empty shell; a body with nothing inside.

The Buy More had not changed since the last time she was there. Customers wandered idly through aisle after aisle of plasma screens and gumbo pots. At the centre of the room stood its crown jewel, the Nerd Herd stand, it was circular in shape and was white and green in color. Jeff was manning the front desk and by the looks of it he was striking out with a plain looking girl.

Hannah scanned the store looking for Chuck, it had been four days and he had not called yet. The suspense was killing her; she found it difficult to even put down the phone for a second to work. The fear of missing his call was far too great. Whenever anyone else called, it would irritate her and she would hurriedly shoo them off and resume her painful waiting. Recently, she had even adopted idiosyncrasies like bringing the phone with her into the bathroom to shower. To sum it up, where she goes, the phone goes. All her new-found habits left her in a physical and mental torpor.

A short man dressed in the familiar green of the Buy More strode up to her. She was almost about to wave him off when she noticed that it was Morgan. Among the dribs and drabs of the Buy More staff, Morgan, like Chuck, was one of the few that did not pose a strenuous test of her patience when conversing with. "Hi Morgan," she said, actually pleased to see him.

Hannah's words seemed to be like anesthesia to Morgan. The second she greeted him, his actions stopped completely, leaving him standing there with a dazed look on his face. "Oh uhm hi Hannah." he finally managed. Using the palm of his hand, he wiped off a stray line of drool that escaped his mouth whilst he was in his dormant state. An amused countenance formed on Hannah's face, no matter how sad you felt watching Morgan be Morgan would brighten you up. "What brings you back to the Buy More? I heard you got a job at some big company."

Hannah neglected to answer Morgan's question as she noticed that Chuck had just exited the employee lounge. Eyes following Hannah's, Morgan's face fell. Compared to Chuck, Morgan was nothing more than a sidekick. Morgan clenched his fists, hoping to drive the anger out of his body. Never had he ever felt this way to Chuck before, usually Chuck was always there to help him; save his ass and everyone's asses too.

"You didn't call," Hannah said that more as a statement than a question. Startled slightly, Chuck jumped and then turned to face the petite brunette. He was given no time to breathe as the moment he laid eyes upon her, the breathe was sucked out of his body again. She wore a simple black jacket over a cream colored top. A black office skirt and black high heels completed her outfit. Small touches of makeup decorated her face. Even the lighting seemed to highlight her delicate features perfectly, almost as if they were painted on.

A surge of self-consciousness flared in Chuck, seeing how well she was dressed made him feel inferior. She was so perfect; calling her a goddess would not even be an exaggeration. "I was just about to," Chuck replied, hoping to ease the tensions between them. Only after a moment passed did Chuck see how stereotypical his response was.

"Well since I'm here…coffee?" she asked this slowly.

"Sure". The pair walked out of the Buy More side-by-side. In the Buy More parking lot they walked towards Hannah's car when Chuck broke the unintentional silence that had formed. "So, what do you do now?" he asked. Seeing her car again reminded him of how little he actually knew about Hannah. Even when they used to be together, she had never really told him anything about herself. Heck, he did not even know what job she was fired from when they met on the plane to Paris. All he knew was that she was working with computers.

She seemed reluctant to answer Chuck's sudden question. "I work with computers,"

"Oh…"


	5. Chapter 5

People of only the highest caste came here. They dressed in office suits typing furiously on their laptops or tapping on their phones. Their eyes were fixated on the screen of whatever 'toy' they had with them and Chuck doubted if they were even aware of each other's presence. The store was air-conditioned and well decorated. Line after line of pastries glistened invitingly under glass cases, above the counter a large chalkboard listed down the various types of coffee they sold in bright powdery chalk. Store attendants patrolled the store with coffee pots in hand asking customers if they wanted refills.

A middle-aged lady with a bright disposition had taken their orders and they found a stainless steel table to sit. The table felt cool against Chuck's skin, a welcome change from the scorching weather outside. Even compared to the cashier, Chuck felt under-dressed. His white button down shirt, black tie, black pants and Buy More name tag was not exactly the most formal of attires. The air was dense with the aroma of roasting coffee beans, a sure sign that this was a classy establishment.

Their drinks arrived quickly; a white porcelain cup on top of a saucer. Packets of sugar and cream stood in the middle of the table. The bitter liquid reminded Chuck that this was not a dream; he was actually here with Hannah. At the sound of her clearing her throat, Chuck diverted his attention away from his drink. She was watching him intently, trying to read the emotions that Chuck concealed from her.

"Chuck, how's Sarah?" Chuck almost did a spit take at her words.

"Uhm – she's fine. Why do you ask?"

"Oh no reason, I just assumed that the two of you were… I don't know… back together?" she ventured. Instinctively, Chuck used his teeth to clamp down on the two walls of his mouth. Sensing a breakthrough, Hannah persisted with her questions. "Is she why we couldn't be together? If not, then what was it? Oh never mind I know you can't tell me."

"Sarah and I are through, that I can tell you." Chuck said confidently. He was glad to be able to tell the truth for once, the constant deception of all those around him was utterly draining. In the past, he never had to think before talking; everything that left his mouth was a hundred percent from the heart. Now, each time he even opened his mouth he would have to go through his cover and think back to the lies he already told just to make sure his story stayed constant.

His answer seemed to aggravate Hannah; deep crevices formed along her forehead; an icy glare arose in her eyes. "Really Chuck?" Chuck nodded, unsure of what he did wrong. "Oh my god! Up to now, you're still lying to me." She said exasperatedly.

"No, no no no no." Chuck repeated, Hannah's drastic reactions were starting to intimidate him. Her scowl turned feral, nostrils flaring, teeth blared and voice shrill.

"Really? Well then why is it when I asked Ellie about why you would dump me like that, she told me that you still had feelings for Sarah and that it made you feel unfaithful to me!" She was screaming her lungs out, attracting the attention of everyone in the shop. For once, their heads were turned away from their beeping phones, flashing laptops and blinking Ipads. All their eyes focused on the now standing brunette. Hannah's chair had been pushed back fiercely as she jumped to her feet, her vantage point only making her speech more intimidating. Anger seethed from her every word, burning the ears of anyone who had the misfortune to overhear.

"Alright Hannah I know you're mad but…" Chuck was cut off by another of Hannah's rants.

"Mad! Mad doesn't even begin to describe the way I feel right now." She hissed vehemently. "What are you looking at?" she roared at a pudgy man sitting at the next table. His face paled like a sheet when she directed her wrath towards him. Droplets of sweat formed on his forehead and his eyes started to dart furiously form side to side. Chuck would have been amused if not for the vengeful lady before him.

"Can we continue this outside?" Chuck asked nervously.

"Fine," she growled through clenched teeth. Chuck was freaking out, never had he seen Hannah this mad before. Even when he had broken up with her on the night he was supposed to meet her parents, she was leaning more towards shock than actual anger. Right now, a vein was protruding out of her neck and her jaw muscles were flexing menacingly.

Lacing their hands together, Chuck led Hannah outside the store, while at the same time giving apologetic looks to everyone whose gaze met his. Once outside, Hannah instantly ripped her hand from his grasp. Chuck was a little upset at this, holding her hand almost made it feel like they were together again. The familiar warmth of her hand, the nostalgic feel of her smooth opalescent skin all reminded Chuck of how things were.

The sun was setting, pulling its glow from the rest of the sky. Orange sky was blending so gently to purple that only when you consciously compared the two extremes, would you actually be awoken from its picturesque beauty enough to notice the difference. Buildings were now bathed in an orange glow, conferring to them a soporific capability. Everything was placed so perfectly that it felt to Chuck like he was looking at a foreign postcard. Everything always seemed so serene in those pictures; it was everything that Chuck fought to protect. Also, although he knew that the pictures were photo shopped, he always tried to fool himself into believing that somewhere like this might exist and that one day he was going to bring Mrs. Bartowski there.

Hannah's sporadic breathing ended Chuck's trance, he turned to find her covering her face with her hands. Every sniffle she took rocked her entire frame. Soft, gentle cries reverberated from her. Tears smeared her makeup and for once she looked something other than perfect. She looked vulnerable. Striking red lines spider webbed in the white of her eyes, contrasting greatly with the brown of her irises. Her neatly-combed hair was absolutely ruffled; stray strands were caught in her mouth while others formed a curtain around her face.

Chuck was unsure how to act, on one hand a hug was too friendly while a handshake just seemed cruel. Eventually, he settled with simply putting his arms around her and rubbing her back. Several slow strokes later, Hannah regained enough composure to stabilize her breathing. She pulled away from his embrace and raised her head. "I can't believe that I said everything felt right that time at dinner." She said bitterly.

Vibrations travelled up Chuck's pants pocket and he reached down to pull his handphone out. Chuck groaned the world had a lousy sense of timing, at the moment he was finally making headway with Hannah Shaw just had to send him a message. In a grey box on his phone's screen were three of Chuck's least favorite words in a dull white font. "Mission time Chuck".


	6. Chapter 6

Chuck mentally groaned, of all the times for him to get a mission he had to get it as Hannah was pouring her eyes out. A second message appeared sending fresh vibrations through Chuck's arm. "Go to Castle ASAP." it said. Chuck looked up towards Hannah; she had stopped crying but was still sobbing erratically. It pained him to see her like this and even more when he realized that they still could not be together. Nothing had changed since the last time they met, the Ring still existed; they still committed evil acts and the world was still in danger.

"Hannah," At the sound of her name, she looked up and met Chuck's gaze. "I – err… Well you see, since we were together… What I'm trying to say is that… "A dozen scenarios play in Chuck's mind. On one hand, he could bring her with him to Castle; tell her the truth and hopes that she will understand. But then either Casey or Sarah would tranquilize her and lock her up somewhere underground. On the other hand, he could leave her here; totally ignoring what his heart was telling him, finish the mission and drown his sorrows in alcohol later. Both options seemed to have rather bleak prospects.

"Chuck?" she prompted.

"Can I see you again?" he blurted out before he could stop himself. "It's just that I miss you so much, and the days after you left – well they seemed like a living hell to me. Or at least a deeper level of hell than working at the Buy More already is." Hannah chuckled weakly at Chuck's last sentence.

"How can I trust you again?" Her question was uttered in such a soft tone that it was hard to tell who the question was meant for, her or him. Watching her in such a vulnerable state, Chuck wanted to just hold her and let her cry it out. Protect her from every harmful thing in the world, kind of like what he did at the Buy More when she still worked there. But a better job this time, without all of Casey's 'yogurt time'.

"You can trust me." Chuck reassured. "I can say from the bottom of my heart that I would never intentionally hurt you." He attempted to pour as much feeling into these words as he could, hoping that somehow she would see the truth without him having to blatantly say it out.

"If so, why did you dump me after we had sex? That hurt me a lot Chuck, and I'm pretty sure it was intentional." Fresh tears were pooling in her eyes, they reflected the evening light like diamonds. Both of her fists were tightly clenched as she tried to compose herself, refusing to allow Chuck to see how much it truly hurt her. Her luscious lips were pursed tightly, stifling sobs and holding back cries.

"You have to know, that was not intentional. I only did that because it was in your best interests. It hurt me a lot too." Chuck said sadly. His vision was getting impaired by the tears forming in his eyes. Colors blurred and mixed together, shapes morphed; their lines no longer as defined. Purposely ignoring the vibrations his phone was creating, he waited for an answer.

"I don't know Chuck, we'll see." she said finally. Her tone was harsh but below all the hostility there were the barest embers of warmth. She walked off without hesitation, heading towards where they had parked. As her silhouette grew smaller and fainter in the distance, Chuck sighed. It was not a 'yes' but it was not a 'no' either. He knew then that he still had a chance.

Taking a moment to calm himself down, he whipped out his phone and answered the call. "Where are you Chuck?" Sarah questioned. Clearing his throat to remove all traces of shakiness, he told her that he would be arriving soon. A total lie considering he had no idea where he was and cabs in Burbank were never easy to find. But Chuck Bartowski was a man of his word; a promise was not taken lightly by him. Sadly, this proved to be one of his greatest traits and at the same time one of his greatest flaws.

He arrived at Castle quickly enough; inside the rest of the team was already sitting. Sarah absentmindedly chewed on a swivel stick, one of her idiosyncrasies. Casey was carefully cleaning out his favorite gun with an old rag. Shaw was idly flipping through the report he was no doubt going to present to them later. It seemed that without Chuck the other three agents did not have anything in common and silence was all that filled the time they spent together. Chuck cleared his throat loudly.

The three agents looked up from their respective activities; they actually seemed relieved to see him. Looks like the silence was more uncomfortable than they cared to let on, their shoulders dropped slightly; even Casey seemed a little happy to see him. "Hey guys - and Sarah, I have something to ask."

The three members sat up a little straighter, it was not often that Chuck used such a serious tone. "I wanted to know if - you know - there could possibly, maybe be a way for me to… ah never mind." Chuck threw his hands up to cover his face. His palms were clammy and they felt cool against his face.

"Let's just get the meeting over with," he surrendered. At his words, everyone's faces returned to Shaw, well…everyone except Sarah, her eyes never left Chuck. Shaw's voice was background noise to her, an occasional nod and mhmm, and Shaw would not suspect a thing. Chuck had on a dour expression; it looked like the face he would give if Ellie decided to move to another country. It was a reserved face, a face he put on to face the world while he reined in his emotions. For some reason, Sarah felt upset when she saw his look.

"Wait," Sarah interrupted. Everyone's gaze drifted from Shaw to the blonde agent. Even Chuck's eyes turned to her, the sudden change from Shaw's monotone mission voice broke through his chain of thought like a stone dropped into a pool of water.

"You have something to add, Sarah?" Shaw asked inquisitively. He was not accustomed to interruptions in his debriefs except from Chuck.

"No… it's just that I feel Chuck should finish what he was saying." Chuck's question had been haunting her thoughts, it was impossible for her to pay any attention whatsoever to Shaw's instructions when Chuck seemed so sad. She could ignore the surprised faces of her teammates, she could even ignore Chuck's look of questioning, but she could not ignore the sadness so clearly displayed on Chuck's features.

"Maybe, it would be better for us to focus on the mission for now." Chuck offered. The last thing he wanted was to be the centre of attention. No it would be far better for them to focus on the mission for now, as Shaw always said an unfocused spy was a dead spy. The last thing he needed was to have to handle Hannah and mourn Sarah at the same time. Hopefully his reply pacified Sarah's sudden insistence.

The rest of the meeting went off smoothly; Shaw shot Sarah several inquisitive glances which she promptly ignored. Chuck tried to compress himself into his chair so as to attract as little attention as possible, but failed to deter Sarah's gaze. Once the meeting ended, Chuck stood up to leave. Before Sarah could intercept him, Shaw intercepted her. "Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to get some dinner together, I know a great place down the street,"

"No thanks, I have plans." She replied waving him off. Not the most common girlfriend behavior.

She dashed up the stairs, her heels clanging loudly against the metal staircase. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she turned him around. He jumped slightly at her touch and gingerly allowed her to turn him around. "Hey," he started in an unusually high voice, one she recognized from whenever he tried to keep something from her.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to do something tonight?" she asked brightly.

"Uhm, aren't you and Shaw going out tonight?" he retorted. Without allowing her to speak, he continued, "Anyway our cover isn't boyfriend and girlfriend anymore remember? We don't have to go on cover dates to fool Ellie anymore." He finished.

"Friends go out too…" she countered weakly. Since when did getting Chuck to go out get so hard, normally all she would have to do is mention the word "dinner" and he would jump right off his feet.

"Come on…" she pleaded, batting her eyes. Her lower lip slowly pushed out until she was full-on pouting.

"Well… sure." Sarah did a mental cheer. "But not tonight, how about tomorrow?"

"Sure." As long as they went out, she did not mind if she had to wait for a month. Also this would give her some time to doll herself up, buy new clothes; get her hair done; go for a facial and a dozen other things. Thank goodness Shaw's briefing was not about a new mission, only a presentation on some of the new intelligence they stole. Sarah smirked; Chuck would not know what hit him.

"A date, great…" Chuck groaned once Sarah was out of earshot.


	7. Chapter 7

Today was the big day; Sarah could barely contain her excitement. She had spent all day shopping for the perfect dress, the perfect shoes to go with it and of course the perfect jewels to complement her outfit. A full body spa treatment followed and lastly a visit to the stylist. She looked absolutely stunning. Her hair was curlier than usual and had a glossy sheen to it. Perfectly tanned skin covered her from head to toe and she had applied just the right amount of makeup, not so much to overshadow her features but just enough to complement them.

It was then that she realized that she still had not set a time with Chuck. She pranced over to her Iphone and dialed Chuck's number; it was on her speed dial. He picked it up on the second ring. "Hey Chuck, I'll pick you up at seven?" she confirmed.

"Uh, sure. Dress casual." She wanted to scream, she most certainly did not prepare for a casual date. In fact the total cost of her outfit was more than Chuck made at the Buy More in a week.

"Actually, I was thinking maybe we could go somewhere a little more formal?" she ventured. Waiting for his reply was agonizing, she unconsciously held her breath and rubbed her index finger and thumb together.

Finally, he agreed and she let out a huge breath. "See you then." He said and then hanged up. Normally, Sarah loved Saturdays, it was her day off. A normal Saturday would go something like this. Wake up and go for an early morning run, then breakfast and a shower. After that she usually hung out with Chuck, or I suppose Shaw now. Sarah realized that an unhealthy amount of her schedule revolved around Chuck, she would spend time with him on the days they did not have missions, during their lunch breaks at work and double dates with Ellie and Awesome. God she missed double dating with the Bartowskis, their happiness was just contagious.

As seven drew near, Sarah prepped up. She put on the dress she bought, a silk midnight blue dress that revealed her back, her shoes, gold strappy heels and her jewellery, a pair of diamond earrings. She looked herself up down in the mirror and was happy at the result. She looked ravishing.

Her Porsche pulled up into Chuck's driveway just as he left his house. He saw her car and signaled for her to wait before doing something very unexpected. He went over to Casey's house and knocked on the front door. Casey appeared and the two men strode over to her car. Both of them were wearing suits. Chuck's was black with a black shirt inside and the dark red tie Sarah had gotten for him once. Casey's was also black but he wore a light blue inner shirt with a black tie.

Sarah was not pleased, although she had to admit Chuck looked good enough to eat. Both men sensed her vibes and shot each other a questioning look. It took Chuck a full minute before he realized what she was unhappy about. "I hope you don't mind but I invited Casey to follow."

"No of course not, why would I mind?" she replied in a strained voice.

Both Casey and Chuck entered Sarah's car. Chuck sat shotgun with Casey in the back. The drive to the restaurant was awkward, several times Chuck tried to start a conversation but Sarah's one-word replies and Casey's lack of replies gave him nothing to work with. So he resigned to revel in the silence and admire the view outside.

They arrived at a classy restaurant whose name Chuck could not pronounce. Tables covered by white tablecloths stood at regular intervals. Guests wore either dress coats or suits like Chuck and Casey. Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, giving the restaurant a smooth ambience. There was a beautiful floral centerpiece in the middle of each table and napkins were elegantly folded into swans. A well-dressed waiter led them to their table and took their orders.

Chuck fiddled with his numerous forks and knives, trying to occupy his idle hands, until Casey barked at him to stop. Casey excused himself to the gents and seeing her opportunity to get rid of him, Sarah followed. Chuck was left sitting at the table with his new found habit, drumming his fingers on the table.

Sarah was shocked to find Casey standing outside the gents waiting for her. He had a small smile on his face as he looked at her. "So trying to get rid of me huh?" he asked already knowing her answer.

"Look Casey, it's nothing personal but I kind of wanted tonight to be for just Chuck and me." She said.

"What about Shaw, he know you're here?" Casey questioned. Normally he could not care less about the social lives of his colleagues but he was a sucker for a good romance story, it was his guilty pleasure.

"Well no," she admitted.

""I'm sorry Walker but Chuck told me specifically not to leave him alone with you tonight, and I gave my word. So I guess you're out of luck." He finished before heading back towards Chuck. Casey's words hit home with her, Chuck had specifically requested to not be left alone with her? That hurt. It hurt more than a fresh bullet wound; more than the time her dad taught her how to pick a lock as her birthday present; even more than the time she watched Bryce die.

Deciding to grant his request, she walked back to their table and plopped into her seat. Throughout the night, she was nothing more than the perfect friend. She laughed at all his jokes, participated actively in conversation and steered clear of any touchy topics. By the end of the night even Casey had relaxed.

Casey fell asleep halfway on the ride home; ten glasses of wine could do that to a person. Sarah felt the silence gratifying; things had become far too uncomfortable between Chuck and her. It was nice to be able to sit in silence and enjoy each other's company; it reminded her of the old days. She found her hand reaching over to grab his and scolded herself mentally. It was just a force of habit, right?

They reached Chuck's apartment and he had to drag Casey out of Sarah's car. Together, Sarah and Chuck, each took one side of Casey and hoisted him back into his house and onto his bed. "There, that should do it." Sarah said nonchalantly. Casey slurred slightly and then crawled under his blanket and went to sleep.

The duo walked out together, chatting about past missions. They reached Chuck's doorstep and looked at one another. Instinctively, Sarah closed her eyes and leaned in for a kiss. Chuck seeing this abruptly stuck his hand out at her, stopping her from getting any closer. Her eyes dulled slightly at the sight of Chuck's outstretched hand but she shook it anyway.

A sly thought entered her mind; she shook Chuck's hand and used it to pull Chuck towards the fountain. Chuck, being the gentleman he is, did nothing to resist. "You know," he said, letting the cool air around the fountain envelop him. "I almost didn't want to come tonight." Sarah's heart lurched but she held it in, reminding herself that she was with Shaw now, and that she was happy?

"But seeing the way you behaved tonight, I can see that you're totally over me. And that's good because now we can move on. You and Shaw can become the ultimate spy couple and I…" Chuck left off.

"Will continue being the great guy he is and find a great wife to spend his life with." She finished for him.

"Thanks, Sarah. I needed that." He smiled at her, causing her to melt on the inside, and stood gave her a hug before going home.

Her body was still frozen from where he had hugged her. Every fibre of her being wanted to follow him inside his house and lose herself, if only for one night. His hug just felt so good, too good…


	8. Chapter 8

Chuck had a problem, a really big problem. Exactly what did we'll see mean? Was he supposed to call her or was it the other way around? Its days like these that Chuck wished he had more relationship experience. Waiting for any news from Hannah was nerve wrecking. Each time his phone received a message or got a call, his spirits would skyrocket. However each time he saw that it was not Hannah, it was send him into a funk for the rest of the day.

The Buy More was not helping to raise his spirits. Customers entered and left in a trickling stream. They asked questions and doubted his answers continuously. Frustration built up inside of him.

"Excuse me?" a feminine voice inquired.

"What?" Chuck half-yelled. Chuck raised his head, he had just dealt with a very unpleasant man and his mood was at an all time low. Whoever was asking for his help was going to get it. A familiar brunette stood before him. Her face was free of makeup and slightly freckled. She had full, pale pink lips which were turned up into a tiny smile showing a glint of her teeth. She had a petite frame and stood at no more than five feet six. It was Lou.

"Oh hey Lou…"

"Hey, having a bad day?" she asked.

Chuck laughed dryly. "So… my phone is busted again. Those Large Mart losers couldn't do shit." Chuck laughed with more force this time, there was actual feeling behind that laugh.

"I see your trucker mouth hasn't deserted you." he joked. The two enjoyed a quick laugh and Chuck took the phone from Lou. He looked it over and ran some tests. Every test he ran, however, came back totally negative. It was as if someone had taken the phone and just pulled out its battery and sim card. Chuck for the first time since he came to the Buy More was baffled.

"What were you doing with your phone when it just went off the fritz like this?"

"Oh uhm, yea well you know I was er… texting. Yea that's right I was texting." She seemed to panic at answering such a simple question. This struck Chuck as strange. He turned the phone around so that its back was facing him. Using his nails he pried open the phone's cover. True to his hypothesis, the phone was fine; it was only missing a battery and a sim card.

"Err… Lou you do know that your phone is missing its sim card and battery right?" Chuck asked playfully. Even a person that knew nothing of electronics like Lou must know that a phone needs a battery and a sim card.

"Oh! Wow, thanks Chuck, you saved my ass again." She beamed at him.

"So the losers at Large Mart couldn't do shit huh?" he taunted.

"Oh, did I say that? I guess I forgot to check with them." She answered playing along. "Alright, alright you caught me, I missed you and this is my lame way of getting to see you again and ask you out." She raised her hand like she was surrendering. "So, wanna go out sometime?"

The question caught Chuck by surprise. Fond memories of his time with Lou flashed in his mind like the intersect. He remembered the way she made the best sandwiches, the way she smelt like baloney and especially the way she was so upfront. Lou was a person that did not hide a thing, she says what comes to her mind and deals with the consequences later.

"Sure," he answered before he realized. Technically he never asked Hannah to be his girlfriend again. They were not exclusive and what's more Sarah and him were a thing of the past. There was nothing holding him back anymore, well nothing but the intersect still ingrained in his mind.

"Great, I'll call you some time." She waved goodbye and walked out of the Buy More with an added spring in her step. Chuck smiled, maybe today was not going to be such a bad day after all.

He barely diverted his attention back down to the mind numbing report he was reading before Lou entered, when a distinct clearing of a throat caused him to give up. Raising his eyes once again, he found Sarah starring sternly at him. "What's Lou doing here?" she asked clearly annoyed.

"Oh hey Sarah," Chuck acknowledged. Sarah had an off day today and was dressed in casual clothing, a lime green tank top and jeans. For some odd reason though, even though she should be resting at home or on a date with Shaw, she was here.

"Why was she here Chuck?" she repeated obviously peeved.

"Uhm, her phone wasn't working, so I fixed it." Technically not a lie, just not the entire truth, Chuck hoped that Sarah would not see through his ruse. "Anyway," he began trying to change the subject, "Why're you here?"

"Oh, uhm, I was picking up something nearby and I just wanted to stop by and see how things were going with you." Sarah justified defensively.

Chuck nodded and returned to his report. Either Jeff or Lester had 'accidentally' used the store's computers to download adult films, now the entire store, including Chuck, had to read through a life-drainingly boring report on proper company protocol and sit through a test on it. Of course this meant that Chuck was the only one reading it and that he was going to have to provide the answers for the rest of the store to copy.

"Great…on to proper handling of company merchandise." he droned on. Realizing that Sarah was still standing in front of him, he went on to say, "Hmm… well it's been great seeing you. Err…thanks for stopping by."

"Oh, right." she muttered. She seemed to be holding something in; it was always a habit of hers to bite her lower lip when she had something she wanted to say. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go on a double date with me and Shaw."

"Really?" he asked surprised. Double dating had never seemed like one of spy couple's things. They were more of the dining at five-star restaurants and shooting people kind of people. This was truly a shock.

"A double date?" Chuck confirmed.

"Yes Chuck is that so surprising?"

"I don't know, I'm not really seeing anyone now and finding a date might be kind of hard."

"What about Lou, she clearly still likes you." This was shocking for Chuck; Lou had never been one of Sarah's favorite people. Or for that matter, neither was any brunette. Chuck guessed that it was probably a blond thing. It later occurred to Chuck that Sarah must have been spying on Lou and him to know that she still likes him.

"I don't know how to say this nicely, so I'm just coming outright with it. Lou doesn't really like you and inviting three spies to a meal with a civilian might blow our cover or even cause the restaurant we choose to blow up."

"Oh" Sarah looked disappointed. "Well have a good day," she said weakly.

Chuck gave her a parting wave and returned his attention to his papers. For some reason, they were printed in the smallest possible font known to man and crowded the paper like a swarm of ants on a doughnut. Reading it alone was giving Chuck a blinding headache.

He took a few deep breaths and returned to the paper. His mobile phone vibrated in his pocket interrupting him after he read only one sentence. Unconsciously, he retrieved his phone from his pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Hannah.

Chuck's eyes dilated; his breath refused to leave his throat. He could not believe it Hannah was calling him. He took a moment to compose himself so that he would not seem like a spluttering fool when he answered. He answered the call after it had rung four times.

"Hello?" he said cautiously.

"Hi Chuck" Hannah answered.

"Hey, I didn't think you were going to get back to me." Chuck confided truthfully.

"I almost didn't." she agreed.

"So what changed your mind?"

"I was going through my clothes and I saw the Buy More uniform."

"Oh, did you call me just to return it to me because you can keep it. Buy More policy states that if an employee has worked at the Buy More for more than a day, he or she is given ownership of the uniform." After reading the company's protocol, he was well versed in all things to do with the Buy More.

"Wow, you sure do know your Buy More guidelines. And actually I called to say that I've thought about it and the answer is yes. We can see each other again, but only as friends."

Chuck nearly jumped for joy at her words, restraining himself because Buy More protocol states that sudden bursts of emotion are discouraged as it scares customers. "Yes, of course I wouldn't want to push you into doing something that you're not comfortable with."

"Good to hear, well my birthday is the day after tomorrow. I'll see you then?"

"Definitely."

"Great, I'll email you the address."

And that was it; Chuck hung up the phone, one day to find the perfect gift. Almost instantaneously Chuck's phone beeped, signaling the arrival of a new email. He tucked the phone back safely into his pocket feeling it every few minutes to make sure it was still there. I got to take an off day tomorrow, he thought.


	9. Chapter 9

One day to find a gift, not just a gift, the perfect gift. It was not going to be easy but Chuck knew he could do it. If there was one thing that Chuck knew he could do well it was buying gifts for girls. He had even taken the day off just to browse shop after shop for the gift that struck him as the 'one'.

Chuck had approached Ellie for help but all of her suggestions were too suggestive. They all screamed "Hey! I want to get back together with you!" And that was not the message he wanted to give. Finally after wandering aimlessly between shop to shop, he decided he needed some help. There was only one person to ask, one blond, sexy, kick-ass ninja girl. Sarah Walker.

"Hey, Sarah can you do me a favor?" Chuck asked through his phone.

"Sure, what do you need?" she replied. Chuck's sudden request bewildered Sarah; Chuck had been colder than usual with her recently. For him to come to her for help, he must really be in deep trouble. Maybe because of the whole Shaw thing, Chuck just preferred to stay clear of the two of them.

"I need you to help me pick out a gift." Chuck intentionally omitted the recipient of the gift, something made him feel as if mentioning Hannah's name would lose him Sarah's help.

"For whom?" she asked warily. Chuck was being suspiciously vague for Chuck.

"Uhm, a friend." Chuck managed to keep his voice from rising a few octaves. He comforted himself with the fact that he was in fact telling the truth.

"Who?" Sarah repeated.

"Hannah." he said before closing his eyes. Although Sarah could not actually hit him, it was just a natural reaction.

"Fine" she said, albeit a bit unwillingly.

They met up later at one of the stores Chuck was browsing. Sarah had the idea of getting Hannah a dress. It was a decent idea, not too personal to be suggestive but not too distant for a friend. Unfortunately, Chuck had zero fashion sense and each of the dresses he picked was quickly dismissed by Sarah. Eventually, giving up, Chuck settled with just sitting there while Sarah went about picking up dresses before putting them back.

"How about this?" Sarah asked, holding up a midnight blue gown. Tiny diamonds were sewn into the silk giving the dress a glimmering effect. The dress was long and velvety. It seemed perfect, well perfect except for the price.

Sarah noticed Chuck calculating in his head. She had already done a few quick counts and the amount that dress cost would be the equivalent of Chuck working continuously for a month. Just as Sarah was going to find something a little more in Chuck's price range, a saleswoman commented, "That dress would look lovely on your girlfriend."

The saleswoman was about thirty years old with nice black hair. She wore a yellow vest over a white shirt and a black skirt. Sarah blushed at the reference to Chuck. Chuck was about to correct the saleswoman when Sarah cut him off. "It would but sadly it's a little pricey." Sarah then climbed into Chuck's lap and clung onto him.

"Aww…that's so cute. I'm sure that our store can give you a discount." She reassured.

"That would be great!" Chuck exclaimed, playing his role perfectly. Sarah smiled and kissed him on the cheek, a small, chaste peck that left a red mark on Chuck's cheek. Sarah instantly regretted her actions; this would probably cause Chuck to avoid her forever. Amazingly, Chuck turned and gave Sarah a deep kiss. The kiss took her surprise and she could not hold back a moan. Their tongues twisted and turned with one another, prodding and poking, testing the others skills. Sarah even whimpered slightly when Chuck pulled away. She was so tempted to drag him into one of the changing rooms and do it right there.

Chuck clearing his throat woke her from her fantasies. Sarah looked around and saw that the saleswoman had left and Chuck was now shifting uncomfortably in his seat with Sarah on him. "Thanks," he coughed.

"No problem. It was fun, and that kiss. Oh my god, that was hot." She teased.

Chuck paled then, realizing that she was joking, frowned. "Oh haha Sarah, tease the nerd."

Chuck's self-proclamation of himself as a nerd made Sarah uneasy. It shocked her how Chuck, a spy and Stanford graduate, could still put himself down so much. They paid for the dress and said their goodbyes. Sarah went back to work because she had only taken a half-day off and Chuck went to meet Morgan at their house for a little Call Of Duty action, or at least that is what he told her.

Chuck was actually going off to meet Lou at the Deli. He only lied to Sarah because for some reason he felt awkward talking to Sarah about girls. The Deli was exactly the same as he remembered. It had an Italian theme emphasized by the green, red and white of the shop front and the Italian parasols sheltering customers form the scorching Burbank sun. Inside the scent of toasting bread and fresh cold cut meats filled the air, making Chuck savor every breath. Shouts from the customers and workers gave the restaurant a market-like feel.

Lou was mid-way preparing a customer's order when she noticed Chuck. She flashed him a grin and he returned it. Mimicking every other customer Chuck took a ticket and peered at the tiny black number imprinted on his slip, it said seventy-four. The counter above the counter had in large digital numbers a fifty-nine. Seeing as he would be here for a while, Chuck retreated from the mass of struggling customers and took a seat on one of the chairs provided.

A full hour passed before his number showed up on the counter. He barged his way through the other customers and came face to face with Lou. "Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself, you know you didn't have to take a number right?" she joked.

"Strange I have the clearest memory of how I was subject to that the last time I was here." he replied feigning puzzlement.

"That was back then when you were being a massive jerk, now you only a regular jerk so no number for you." she retorted.

The two of them shared a laugh and went on to talk about nothing in particular until one of the customers behind Chuck yelled, "Hey you ordering a sandwich or what?"

Before Chuck could apologize for the delay, Lou piped out, "Hey I'm talking over here! Wait your turn buddy." Chuck was impressed, the only other girl he knew that was that upfront was Sarah. Then again most of the things Sarah were upfront about were not true so I guess Chuck did not know anyone else that upfront. Lou took off her apron and led Chuck to the row of chairs he had been sitting on previously.

"So, what's up?" she asked.

"What do you mean? Oh the visit, well I came here today to ask whether you would like to have dinner sometime."

"Dinner sounds good, when?"

"How about tonight? You haven't lived until you've tried Ellie's cooking."

"Tonight?" But it's so late already, I need time to change and shower and put on makeup…" she fretted.

Amused by Lou's sudden attitude change, he laughed. "You look great already," he assured her.

She seemed hesitant but Chuck, not taking no for an answer, simply grabbed her hand and pulled her towards his car. Despite her protests and complaints, in ten minutes they were standing outside Ellie's house. Lou was frantically running her fingers through her hair taming the wild strands. "You should have at least let me change." she complained while smoothening out the creases in her shirt. "Who is Ellie anyway?"

"My sister." he answered.

"What? I'm meeting your family and you didn't let me change or shower or anything?" she gasped incredulously. Chuck gripped her shoulders with his arms to stop her fidgeting and stared her straight in the eye. The moment her brown orbs focused on his, she stopped moving.

"Relax," he commanded. Seeing her nod slowly, he smiled and knocked on the door. After two loud knocks the door swung open. Ellie was standing there in a "cooking mama" apron; holding a phone between her shoulder and ear. Her hands were coated in a white power that looked like flour.

She squealed sharply when she saw Chuck and pulled him into a tight hug. Chuck squirmed in her embrace, faking a loss of breath. "Chuck, you didn't tell me that you were bringing someone." She then murmured in a strained voice. "Now I look like shit to your new girlfriend."

Lou laughed at the family banter and stretched her arm out for a handshake. Instead of a handshake though Lou was on the receiving end of yet another patented Ellie Bartowski bear hug. When Ellie finally tortured Lou enough, she released her grip and returned to her phone call. Chuck led Lou in and set her down on the couch, ordering her not to move. She obeyed him and he went into the kitchen to get them drinks.

With drinks taken care of, Chuck and Lou could finally talk to their hearts content. And talk they did, the conversation never died, each time they ended a topic a new one would appear. They only stopped talking when Ellie appeared again. She had cleaned herself up, she was no longer wearing the apron and her hands were free of flour.

"Now Chuck aren't you going to introduce me?" Ellie prompted.

"Oh right, Lou this is Ellie, Ellie this is Lou." Chuck obeyed.

"Hi, I'm Lou. Sorry for the way I'm dressed, Chuck here didn't tell me where we were going until like fifteen minutes ago." She flashed Chuck an accusatory glare.

"Nonsense, you look great in that."Ellie said courteously hoping to fix her brother's blunder.

"Alright, before we continue this conversation which trust me is going to become an interrogation, I have to ask who else is coming." Chuck interrupted.

"Oh, the usual, Devon, Casey and Sarah." Ellie answered nonchalantly.

"Err… sis why is Sarah coming?" Chuck asked. He did not ask about Casey because recently, Casey had been constantly coming for dinners. The guy could not get enough of Ellie's cooking.

"Well, she was the one on the phone just now and I was planning on inviting her anyway, she was one of my bridesmaids."

"Oh" Chuck replied sadly. There was no flaw in Ellie's logic, why should she not invite her bridesmaid. Chuck shivered thinking how Sarah would react when she saw Lou.

"Is Sarah the really tall blond?" Lou questioned.

"Yes," both Bartowskis answered.

"Damn" thought Lou, Sarah had never really taken a liking to her. Especially when she was dating Chuck, Sarah seemed to have this crazy fear of her hurting Chuck. She hoped that there were not any feelings left between Sarah and Chuck. Nevertheless, Lou offered to help Ellie prepare dinner. Ellie was so excited when she heard that Lou could cook, she even said that probably Sarah's only flaw was that Sarah could not cook to save her life.

Chuck took a sip of his mountain dew and watched the two ladies at work. "This might work after all…" he mused.


	10. Chapter 10

The whole gang arrived soon. Casey was the first one there; he had been hoping for free samples and received several smacks by a wooden spoon for his troubles. The food smelt great, so great in fact that Casey did not even threaten to kill Chuck when he made a tease about Casey getting kind of pudgy. That for Casey must have meant that he was in a terrific mood.

Morgan arrived next, he came in spied Chuck and the two started playing Xbox in Chuck's room. The jarring noise of gun fire and explosions masked the noise of the doorbell so Chuck did not notice Sarah when arrived. Sarah came with a bottle of wine in hand. She wore a light blue cotton sweater and demin shorts. Looking around hopefully for Chuck, her face fell when she saw that he was not in the living room. Luckily for her, and not for Chuck, her keen sense of hearing notified her that Chuck was in his room.

She crept in quietly so as not to be heard, not exactly a daunting task considering the fact that Chuck was so absorbed in his game that it would have taken an actual explosion to alert him. As she neared Chuck, a voice sounded. "Dinner's ready." That voice sounded familiar, that accent was too nostalgic. She turned around and saw Lou standing by the doorway.

Chuck and Morgan instantly gave their usual response, "Be there in a sec." Lou had to walk over to Chuck and wrestle the white controller out of his hand before he even noticed that it was her who had called him. Chuck removed the head set from his ear and took Lou's hand in his. Then he saw Sarah.

"Oh hey Sarah, when'd you get here?" He asked as if nothing were wrong. His words cut through her like a blade, tearing at her insides. "He was back with Lou? What was so great about her anyway? Sure she had nice brown hair, a sweet smile and a pretty face. Well she could also cook and she smelled like meat, which guy doesn't like meat. Oh no…she's perfect." she mentally debated.

Chuck was waving his hand in front of Sarah's face trying to wake her from her coma-like state. "Hello? Earth to Sarah."

"Huh, what?" she asked, broken out of her stupor.

"I said aren't you coming?" he repeated.

"Oh sure." She then followed behind Chuck and his new girlfriend, Lou. Every second she walked behind the couple, she would recite a list of uncouth adjectives naming out each of the sandwich shop owners minute flaws. In fact she only ran out of words after the appetizers were served.

Dinner went by smoothly, Casey focused on eating, Chuck and Morgan talked about some game and Ellie and Lou were chatting. It burned Sarah how undeserving Lou was. She definitely did not deserve him. He was kind, sweet, gentle, respectful, majestic, hot… "Err Sarah, why are you starring at me?" Chuck asked reaching up to wipe the nonexistent food on his mouth.

He was so cute when he was confused, he would furrow his eyebrows and widen his eyes. "I wasn't starring at you," she protested. "I was admiring… er Ellie's lovely forks, yea that's right forks." Sarah mentally cringed at the weak excuse; there was no way Chuck was going to buy that.

"Uh thanks Sarah." Ellie said confused as she picked up a fork to closer examine it. Everyone at the table followed suit trying to determine exactly what Sarah saw in the forks. Chuck noticed the slight blush formed on Sarah's cheeks and realized that she was lying about what she was starring at.

"Oh yeah, they are really pointy." Chuck commented. Sarah was so touched; Chuck was probably the only man on Earth that would make himself look like such a fool just to ease her embarrassment. He was so sweet that way. So sweet and no longer hers…

Thankfully the whole topic on forks passed quickly after Chuck's comment. Dinner conversation picked up again but this time Chuck persistently tried to involve Sarah in the conversations. After the main course, the gang made their way to the living room. Ellie sat on Devon lap; Morgan sat with Casey and Chuck sat between Sarah and Lou. Sarah burned with jealousy when she saw Lou climb into Chuck's lap. That was her spot, who was she to take it. The sofa suddenly felt a lot less uncomfortable.

Chuck noticed Sarah's discomfort and asked Lou to stand up so that he could help Ellie with the deserts. Sarah smiled knowingly as Lou began getting off. But her smile turned upside down when Lou wrapped her arms around Chuck's neck and refused to let go. To add insult to injury, Lou even made pleading eyes to Sarah silently begging her to help Ellie instead.

Sarah, not wanting to attract suspicion, agreed and strided over to join Ellie in the kitchen. "So how're you holding up?" Ellie inquired.

"Excuse me?" Sarah asked unsure of what Ellie was referring to.

"About Chuck and Lou, being you know – together." Before Sarah could deny, Ellie interjected again. "And don't tell me you're okay with it because I've seen the way you look at him and seriously forks?"

"I'm seeing someone else now Ellie. He's a really great guy, his name is Shaw and he's handsome and great and smart and great and just great." she sobbed.

"But he's not Chuck" Ellie finished for her.

"No, no he's not" she agreed, fighting back tears in the process. "Chuck doesn't want me anymore." she cried softly.

"Oh no, no, no, come here honey…"Ellie soothed pulling Sarah towards her and leading her to Ellie's bedroom. They crept quietly with Ellie using her body to hide Sarah's expression.

Once inside, Sarah's cries grew in frequency and volume. Her once calm breaths were now sporadic and short. Black mascara stained tears trickled down her cheek and she grabbed onto Ellie's waist for support. "Chuck doesn't like me anymore, he has Lou. And she's pretty and cute and can cook and worst of all she's a brunette. Oh I knew I should have gone brunette, Chuck would have loved me if I did." All reason and sensibility had clearly left Sarah; she continued making ridiculous cries about the strangest things that she should have done to keep Chuck.

"No Chuck just needs to see other women first, I'm sure he'll come back to you one day." Ellie reassured while rubbing Sarah's back, urging the spy to pour out all her pent up emotions.

"No," Sarah said shaking her head on Ellie's lap. "He'll never take me back, I'm not pretty enough and after Hannah, I don't think he even want to see me again."

"Shh…" she silenced. "Sarah you are so pretty and Chuck told me he broke up with Hannah because you were the right one for him, not her."

"No, he only said that so he wouldn't have to tell you the real reason." The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

"What?" Ellie asked. "What's the real reason then?"

"Well…" Sarah stalled for time, trying to think of a valid reason. "He knew how much you liked me and he was afraid that if you found out that he was ending it with me, you'd clobber him. About Hannah, she and Chuck had some difficulties and Chuck felt bad about leading her on so he ended it with her. But…but now he's getting back together with her."

Sarah then dried of her tears on her sleeve and followed Ellie out. Ellie had put on a befuddled look, a result of all the new things she had learned about Chuck. The two girls walked out and brought the deserts to the rest of the gang. Everyone took a cup of Ellie's crème brulee and dug in.

"Sarah are you tired? Your eyes are kind of red." Chuck pointed out.

Chuck's concern warmed Sarah's heart. She had to hold herself back from tackling Chuck and kissing him in front of Lou. When Chuck did not get an answer, he reached over and poked her. "Sarah?"

"Oh uhm yeah I'm pretty beat." she answered finally. When Sarah admitted this, everyone suddenly realized how tired they were. Yawns and stretches followed, before one by one everyone started to leave. Lou whispered something into Chuck's ears and a deep blush formed on Chuck's face.

Sarah could not bear it any longer; Chuck's affectionate acts with Lou were too much for Sarah. She stood up and practically ran out the door. Unfortunately her untimely departure caused her to miss Lou walking out the door minutes later with wells of tears in her eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

Today is the big day. Chuck ran through his mental checklist for the umpteenth time, quadruple checking that everything was ready. From the address that Hannah sent him, the dress code seemed to be black tie. Apparently she was celebrating her birthday at some hotel downtown, the Marriot or something.

Relieved that everything was ready, Chuck straightened his tie and left his house. Normally he would not have to worry about his tie, for some reason unbeknownst to him, Sarah always seemed to tighten it. Before leaving, he contemplated leaving his phone home just to avoid any unwanted – interruptions. But in the end, he decided against it, better he be pulled away than risk one of the spies turning up at Hannah's house to retrieve him.

Chuck had picked out one of the suits that the government had gotten him. It was cleanly cut, black with a slit through the middle. Inside that, he wore a dark red dress shirt that Sarah had bought for him and on that a black tie. His usually wild curls had been temporarily tamed by a generous lathering of gel and it gave his hair a slick sheen.

As he drove over to the given address, his mind ran through the different things he wanted to say. Truth be told, he was clueless on what to say. Hannah had clearly specified that they were to remain friends and Chuck was not someone to disrespect another person's decision. Furthermore, if he could not get together with Hannah, why did he deny Lou last night?

His deep brooding made time pass quickly. He pulled up in front of a sophisticated-looking building. Double-checking that he had gotten the address right, he handed his keys over to a valet and stepped out of his car. The hotel was a magnificent building, a testament to eighteenth century design. It was decorated with high curving arches and had at least thirty stories.

Not one to regret his actions he entered the fine establishment. Inside was a bustle of activity, doormen moved large bags on trolleys while residents tried to find their way.

"Are you Mr. Bartowski?" a voice behind asked politely.

"Yes I am" Chuck replied turning around to face a hotel employee. The employee was rather old, looking to be about fifty. Chuck noticed several scars on his rough hands and detected a slight cockney accent in the man's words. He greatly reminded Chuck of the British butlers he used to see on television.

"This way if you please." the man directed signaling with an arm the direction he wanted Chuck to go. Chuck nodded and followed dutifully. The man led Chuck to a large ballroom filled with people. Everyone was wearing extremely fancy and expensive clothes. Chuck was glad he made the choice to wear a suit.

He weaved through the crowd, twisting and turning. There was only one person he wanted to see right now. All of a sudden a silence fell upon the room. Everyone had simultaneously stopped their activity and had turned to face a common direction. Chuck stopped walking and followed suit.

Everyone's gaze was fixated upon the gigantic spiral staircase. It was carved from marble and wide enough for five men to walk side by side. Two thick banisters ran following the curvature of the steps. Although the staircase was immaculately designed, Chuck had his attention on the lady walking down the stairs.

She was dressed in a pink gown and covered her face in a mask. The only features he could make out were that she was lithe and slender, and that she had hazelnut brown hair. The enigma stepped down incredibly gracefully, every step seemed to be timed and planned.

Finally she made it down to the ballroom floor. Instantly a crowd formed in front of her, some extended their hands for a hearty shake and others simply wanted to get a better view. From his left, Chuck overheard some ladies swooning over the mysterious lady's dress.

Relenting to the crowd, Chuck made his way to the bar to wait for the crowd around the girl to thin. Unfortunately, it seemed that she had a permanent entourage, no matter where she went people followed. Chuck waited patiently, hoping that some of her followers would tire but no matter how long he waited her followers never thinned.

Chuck was just about to throw in the towel when he noticed that the large crowd was now headed towards him. He assumed that their 'leader' wanted to get a drink and to avoid being a nuisance he grabbed his champagne flute and left the bar.

Before he could get away, though, a familiar voice called out to him. "Chuck," it said.

Chuck turned to find a lone hand sticking out from the miniature sea of people. He headed towards the beacon like a moth towards a flame, slow but steady. Surrounded by her admirers, he saw the lady of the hour waving towards him. "Aren't you going to wish me happy birthday?" she asked.

"Uh, happy birthday."

"Thanks for coming; it's really good to see you. You look great by the way, love the suit." She complemented.

"Thanks, well" that's all Chuck managed to get out before a handsome man stepped in front of him.

"Hannah, happy birthday and you look lovely as usual." the man said. He was slightly shorter than Chuck and had short blond hair. His frame suggested something athletic but nothing like body building.

"Oh hi Derek," Hannah acknowledged curtly.

"Anyway, I didn't get a chance to congratulate you on the Henderson deal, good job." he continued.

Hannah did not even bother to reply him and actually shifted him to the side so that she could see Chuck. Chuck watched silently as the man glared at him, jealous of the attention he was receiving.

"So, Chuck, sorry I forgot to mention that this was a masquerade ball." Her voice was smooth and supple. She had perfect emphasis and listening to her was almost like eating a piece of gourmet chocolate. It left the senses wanting more.

"It's alright; I didn't have a mask anyway." He shrugged.

"Chuck is it?" the blond man interrupted. "What do you do?"

"I work at a" Chuck coolly said before Hannah cut him off.

"Chuck's in the IT business." Hannah said.

"Really that's interesting, I'm in banking myself. Where did you say you worked again?" the man questioned, insistent on finding a flaw on Chuck.

"A Buy More." Chuck answered matter-of-factly.

"The man almost choked when Chuck said this. "A Buy More, wow that must be exciting." he said voice oozing with sarcasm.

"I used to work there." Hannah said looking towards the man.

"Oh err… I didn't know that. Well I'm sure it was a fine job." the man salvaged weakly.

"It is." she said clearly articulating the is. "Come on Chuck" she grabbed Chuck's free hand and pulled him away from the crowd. Without their 'queen bee' the crowd soon dispersed. "Sorry about Derek." she apologized sincerely once they reached the bar.

"Don't worry about it." Chuck reassured her. "How does he know you?"

"Oh, I kind of work for him. In fact, he was actually the one that put this together. He has this thing for me and his family's pretty wealthy." she explained.

"I see, well I dropped off your gift at the table." Chuck said indicating to a mountain of gifts at the side of the door.

"Thanks," Hannah said. A period of uncomfortable silence followed as both parties simply sipped their drinks.

"Well, this has been fun, but I should probably go" he said awkwardly.

"Really, it's still pretty early." she reasoned.

"Yea well Derek over there has been giving me the stink eye every second I looked at you and I wouldn't want to hinder you at work."

"What? No. Don't mind Derek, stay," she pleaded.

"Nah, I should go, it was good seeing you again. If you ever need technical help, well you know where to find me."

"Oh yeah. It really was good to see you…Bye." she said sadly.

Chuck downed his glass of champagne and stood up to leave. This went well, he thought, pleased that he stayed calm and did not make a fool of himself.

This couldn't have gone worse, she thought miserably.


	12. Chapter 12

"Bye…" she waved weakly at the shrinking silhouette that was Chuck.

"Thank god he left right?" came a voice behind her. Hannah was perturbed to say the least, whoever was insulting Chuck was going to get a piece of her mind.

"Excuse me?" she snarled, turning around to see who it was that was so rude. Rolling her eyes while they were closed, she sighed, it was Derek. He was standing there with a look of pure smugness.

"Well he was killing the mood…" Derek explained weakly.

"Derek, Chuck is my friend; I will not stand for any bad talk about him." Hannah's voice was strained as she struggled to keep a rein on her emotions. If Derek was more observant he might have noticed the taut jaw muscles or even the tightly clenched fist on the bar counter. Unfortunately, Derek was too preoccupied imagining the events that could transpire later tonight.

A devilish grin broke out on his face and his tongue darted out to moisten his lips. "Come on babe," he pleaded. As he said so, his mouth formed a grin. Pearly teeth shined between his pink lips and slight creases formed on both corners of his lips.

His uncouth behavior reminded Hannah of Chuck. Chuck was so thoughtful; he left to save her from having a hard time at work. He was probably the one guy on Earth that was not a complete ass. "Don't babe me!" she hissed vehemently. Only one man can have that privilege, she thought.

"That time of the month huh?" He nodded understandingly. Hannah was shocked, not only was that false but that was such an inappropriate thing to say. She huffed, picked up her drink, and stood to leave. Derek reached an arm out to stop her but retrieved it after seeing the glare on Hannah's face.

The party was still going strong, guests twirled and swayed slightly at the music playing in the background. But to Hannah, the party had lost its splendor the moment Chuck left. He was the main reason why she even requested for a party in the first place. Sadly he only stayed for a little while courtesy of Derek. She mentally cringed as she thought back to how she convinced him to throw this shin ding for her…

_Hannah looked herself up and down. She had to look as good as she could if she was going to pull this off. A form fitting blouse clung to her; below she had worn a simple skirt. Brown locks of hair, curled slightly at its tips, framed her face. _ _She smirked; there was no way Derek could deny her._

_ Knocking gently on the wooden door, she waited for an invitation before entering. Plain white planes hung at the large glass windows, blocking out the picturesque view of the city below. The walls of the office were a cream color and a sturdy oak desk commanded all the room's attention as it stood squarely in the middle of the office. A large black chair stood on one side of the desk and two similar yet smaller chairs stood facing it. _

_ "Hannah, always a pleasure." Derek greeted cheerily. From the first moment his eyes laid on Hannah, all professionalism was thrown to the wind. His eyes hungrily ran over Hannah outfit and his approval showed. Hannah had to resist the urge to frown. A new mantra was repeated in her mind, "Chuck…Chuck". _

_ "Can I help you with something?" Derek asked as he scanned a file he was holding._

_ "Yea, well it's like this my birthday is coming up in a few days…" _

_ "Say no more, I will arrange everything. Any requests?" he asked hoping for her to ask him out._

_ "Yea, could you host it at the Marriot? That hotel was a big part of my childhood."_

_ "Consider it done." Derek winced slightly at the mention of the Marriot. That was an expensive hotel. Hannah smiled sweetly, it cost to stare at her like that._

_ "Thanks Derek," she said sweetly. Hannah then turned and left the office._

_ "Wait, I expect at least one dance from you for this favor."_

_ One dance, that was – acceptable. She could put up with his incredible pompousness for the three minutes it would take for a song to end. "Fine…" she said simply._

Her words were coming back to haunt her, not only had Chuck left so early but now she owed Derek a dance. Things were not panning out for her. Scanning the room, she located the pretentious blond talking to another lady. Hannah winced; this was not going to be fun.

Approaching Derek and his new 'friend', Hannah cleared her throat. The conversation between the two halted and they both turned to face her. "I believe I owed you a dance."

"Why yes you did." Derek agreed looking noticeably happier. He offered his arm to her and she took it. As if on cue, the band began playing a new song. Hannah and Derek danced gracefully together; she played her part while trying as hard as she could to minimize physical contact with him. He seemed to have gotten the wrong message because he took every opportunity to touch her, be it a slight brush or a heavy grab.

The song was fast approaching an end and Derek leaned her down for a final dip. Her eyes glanced upwards as he lowered her frame and in the background she noticed Chuck. He was standing there watching her as most of the room had already done. A pensive expression covered his face; all emotion had long been stripped away.

The final notes resounded through the room and were closely followed by a hearty applause. The circle of bystanders were heartily clapping away, well all of them were except for one. Chuck did not clap; he simply walked off heading towards the exit.

"Sounds like they want an encore." Derek said hoping for a second dance.

"No thank you," Hannah replied curtly. She then broke off from his embrace and pushed through the crowd. Chuck was walking away fast; it was almost as if he could sense her behind him. He took long brisk strides and she had to quicken her significantly shorter strides to even keep up with him.

"Chuck!" she called out.

He whether intentionally or not did not respond to her call. She repeated her calls and Chuck only stopped when the employee from before actually placed a hand on his shoulders and alerted him to her calls. Closing the distance between them, her heart raced faster with each step. It was not clear to her why she would chase after him; technically they had nothing between them. They were simply friends.

Chuck turned to face her, he wore a pleasant expression. Not as happy as his usual but an improvement from before. "Yeah Hannah?" he asked.

"Well," she was at a loss for words. What was wrong with what happened, nothing. All she did was dance with a colleague. It was completely appropriate.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with what happened just now?"

"Oh yeah, it's not the first time I've been ribbed by another guy." he assured.

"What?" Hannah asked, confused. "No, I meant with the dance." she clarified realizing that Chuck was referring to the earlier incident.

"Oh, well should I have taken offence?" he asked befuddled.

"It's just you looked kind of upset, and you sort of ran away from me."

"Look, like you said there's no chance for us to be together. So anything lying on the border of romantic is really none of my business. I should really get going." For some reason her heart fell when he relinquished all possibilities of them being together. But he was right, it was her decision, he was just respecting it. Sometimes it really sucked that he had to be such a gentleman.

"It was good seeing you again Hannah," he said. He then bid his farewell and strode off towards the valet service.

"We're still friends right? I mean we can still hang out can't we?" she cried out.

"Yeah sure," he said in a weak voice. With a reserved smile, he turned and ambled out the giant glass revolving door.

Hannah sighed, barely a week after he broke up with her and she already misses him. How pathetic can one person get, he crushed her emotionally and she still wants him back. Seeing no further point in returning to her party, she decided that it was time to do a little research on one Chuck Bartowski.

A short drive to Chuck's sister's house and a brisk walk to the front door found Hannah not for the first time tonight hesitating. Her fist rose to the door but fell before any contact was made. It felt so wrong that she was here; if anything Chuck should be the one knocking on her door in the dead of the night begging for forgiveness. But no, a cruel twist of fate had left her standing outside the house looking like a fool. Mustering up all her courage she raised her hand again and struck firmly on the wooden door in front of her.

All it took was a minute for the door to swing open and Hannah found herself standing in front of a blonde man. Devon stared at Hannah for a second as if deciding if she was real or not, then to further prove that this was not in fact a dream, he rubbed vigorously on his eyes.

"Hi," Hannah greeted.

"Hi, Hannah…" Devon responded.

A palpable silence overtook the two of them as Hannah bit on her lower lip and Devon stared at her mouth agape.

"Are you going to let me in?" Devon retreated with a sheepish grin and motioned for her to enter. The room looked largely the same since the last time she was here, not surprising seeing as it was less than two weeks ago. From the corner of her eye, Hannah spied Ellie with a similar wide-eyed, jaw-dropped expression. Without a prompt from Hannah, Ellie took nearly three full minutes to recover.

"Hey Hannah," the brunette finally said.

Hannah gave a slight wave and brought up the real reason she was here. "Can I talk to you, about Chuck?"

"Sure," Ellie stood up from the dining table and unconsciously left the cup of coffee she was drinking. The two girls settled on the sofa next to one another with Devon sitting a distance away. Ellie took a deep breath and composed herself.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, I really want to know is anything happening in Chuck's life now?"

"Alright, Chuck told me that he wasn't over Sarah-"Ellie freezed as she realized that Hannah had not asked the question that she told she would. "Oh well no nothing out of the ordinary. Why?"Ellie stated calmly.

"No it's just that when Chuck ended things with me, he said that there were things in his life that didn't allow him to be with me… I guess I just wanted to know what these things were." Hannah finished with a smile.

"Well, my brother has been doing a lot of – soul searching recently. There's this girl Sarah, and I think Chuck is still a little confused over his feelings towards her." Hannah balked at the sound of Sarah's name; from day one she had not liked the tall blond. There was something deceitful about the way she conducted herself.

"Speaking of Sarah, what's their deal?"Hannah questioned.

"Oh well, you see our Chucky has been through a lot. He's such a guy bro but the universe just hates him I suppose, might be because Chuck is so unhateable by anyone that the universe feels it's their job. Anyway, Chuck had a pretty bad experience in Stanford, his girlfriend left him for his best friend, so not awesome. Anyway Chuck's been hurting for a really long time and then Sarah came along, she's awesome. She totally fixed up Chuck's life but she also seems to toy with his emotions a lot. Its like she can't decide whether to be with him or not. "Devon interjected. Ellie nodded sadly at Devon's long speech sighing once or twice in between.

"I see, she's toying with him huh," Hannah muttered to herself. "Could I possibly have Sarah's number?"

Both Ellie and Devon seemed uncomfortable at Hannah's request. "I just want to talk," Hannah reassured. 'Well that and other things' she thought.

A moment of consideration later, they agreed. Hannah having gotten all she wanted and more stepped ecstatically out of the Woodcomb's house. Armed with this new piece of information, things were definitely getting interesting.

Inside his apartment, Casey smirked; Chuck was in for one hell of a ride. Normally any girl that went up against Sarah was a lost cause. But this girl, she had some bite to her, things were going to get interesting.


	13. Chapter 13

Working at the Orange Orange was dull to say the least. So little customers actually entered the store that none of the toppings, or the yogurt or even the napkins needed refilling. It would be a good day if there was even a dent in the three stated. Sarah stared mundanely at the clock willing it to go faster. As if taunting her, the hands on the clock seemed to intentionally slow down. Every minute chime was a testament to how empty her life was. On the bright side, noon was approaching, maybe today Chuck would decide to drop by, it was all she could hope for.

Surprisingly, Chuck did drop by. He walked into the store with a dazzling smile, one that inevitably would get one out of her too.

"Hey," He waved to her and took a seat at one of the plastic stools lining the counter.

"Hey yourself." she replied heartily. After his half-hour lunch break, it would e back to staring at the wall clock for her.

"I got some big news," he announced.

"Oh yeah?" she asked warily. Good news for Chuck somehow always led to trouble for the mission. But even so, Sarah was happy for Chuck, he deserved all the good news in the world.

"Firstly, I'd like to thank you for helping me out with Hannah's gift. That was really sweet of you." He tugged at his collar slightly at the mention of Hannah's name. She was still a fresh wound to the two of them.

"No problem, so is that the good news? She liked it?"

"Well, I don't know that for sure, I wasn't around to see her open it but with your taste, I'm sure she loved it. Anyway that's not the news, the news is that I've quit the Buy More." he rejoiced.

"What? But Chuck for our cover's sake… I'm going to have to report this in." Sarah turned to enter Castle but stopped once she felt Chuck's arm firmly grip hers.

"No need, I already told Casey to tell Beckman. She gave me the go-ahead."

Sarah's incredulous stare indicated for Chuck to explain. "Well, I laid out my plans to her and Beckman agreed. You know I think after the whole Roan thing, she likes me more."

"Wow, Chuck. So what are your plans exactly?"

"Well, I have recently released a new prototype game that's receiving a lot of buzz. I've worked on it in my off time and a really big company has decided to invest in it."

"But with you not working at the Buy More, how will I-we watch over you?"

"Well thanks to Shaw, Beckman allowed me to take care of myself provided I carry a panic button with me at all times."

'Shaw, we are so going to talk about this later.' Sarah thought. She hid her aggression under a congratulatory expression and reached over to hug Chuck. Chuck seeing the occasion obliged.

A ring from the Orange Orange entrance broke their embrace. Casey stood at the door and sneered at the two's 'girl feelings'. Seeing Casey meant only one thing, the mission drought was over. It was action time. Sarah was happy that there was a mission; it provided her with a distraction from Chuck.

"Is there a mission?" Chuck asked.

"Actually no," Casey replied before continuing. "This is a private meeting between doofus over there, Shaw and me." Chuck glanced over towards Sarah; three years together had taught him that she did not handle bad news well. Actually she did not handle good news well either so I suppose she just does not handle news well.

Sarah's face proved an unreadable mask. Whether she did not care or hiding her feelings was in her repertoire of skills was unknown to Chuck. He was just glad that she was not throwing knives at anyone. Her lips were drawn into a tight line and she simply went back to the magazine on her lap.

While this was happening, back at the Hannah's house, she was preparing to call Sarah. Making a phone call had never been so difficult. Hannah sighed, why was this so hard? Was it because Sarah was so intimidating, or the fact that she was a good head taller than her? Finally after several more minutes of self-debating, she lifted up the phone and put it to her ear.

The dull tone of the phone further settled her nerves; it reminded her of the normalcy of the situation. She had made thousands of phone calls before how was this time any different? Hastily she dialed in the eight digits. The phone rang twice before Sarah picked up.

"Hello?" Sarah said stiffly.

"Hi is this Sarah?" Hannah asked.

"Yes, who is this?" Sarah set her magazine down, when you have a history of aliases it pays to be wary.

"This is Hannah actually."

"Oh, Hannah, uhm hi?" Her words may have formed a statement but her tone implied question.

"Hi, I just wanted to ask you what your feelings towards Chuck are." She said that entire sentence in one breath as if any pause might drain away the momentary courage she had gained and cause her to falter.

"Oh! Well…" Hannah's question had caught Sarah off guard. What would the right answer be? Saying that they were mere friends would tantamount to asking Hannah to go after Chuck and that was by no account acceptable. Chuck was Sarah's whether he knew it or not. Then again saying that they were in a relationship would be a lie. Although it would deter Hannah from any other advances on Chuck. The choice was clear.

"We're back together." Sarah affirmed.

"Oh, really? Because I thought that maybe Chuck was interested in getting back together with me." She seemed disappointed. Perfect, Sarah thought.

"I guess you thought wrong. Cause we are totally in love with each other, in fact nowadays Chuck can't seem to keep his hands to himself not that I'm complaining. Chuck is no amateur in the bed."

Sarah did not receive a reply; all she got was the flat sound of a disconnected call. She smirked to herself triumphantly, that takes care of Hannah.

Hannah was flabbergasted; Chuck seemed so friendly and sweet. He genuinely appeared decent. Well that is the last time I am going to let my guard down, she thought. There was no way in hell that Chuck was going to get that close to her again. Still it was too bad that he could not get over Sarah, without that baggage Chuck would have been perfect for her.

Back in Castle: the three men sat around the rectangular metal table that they usually did when there was a meeting. However this time, General Beckman did not appear on the screen. Instead Shaw stood up and headed to the front of the table.

Clearing his throat, he began, "Well good to see you guys again. Lets get down to business shall we?" Seeing both Chuck and Casey nod, he continued, "Well with Chuck establishing himself as a full-fledged spy, the General and I have agreed that it is time for him to embark on a solo mission – in another country of his choice."

Both Casey and Chuck were visibly stunned. They sat there, mouth agape, simply staring at Shaw. Finally Chuck recovered from the shock and broke the silence that had unconsciously built up. "Wait, you mean to say break up the team?"

"Yes, Chuck the team is like training wheels, we were there when you took your first few steps but now that you've learnt to run its time to take the training wheels off." Shaw replied. Even Casey gruffly mumbled his approval.

"Will I have a team there? When do I leave? Is this for good or will I ever come back?" Chuck bombarded question after question at Shaw.

"In order of your questions, the answers are yes, next week and depending on your performance."

"I see," Chuck then walked off towards the door of Castle. This was goodbye…to everyone.

Chuck walked through the freezer to see Sarah end a call. She, sensing his presence, swiveled her body to face him fully.

"So, what was the all-boy meeting about?" she asked cheerily.

"I'm getting a mission." Chuck stated flatly. Without waiting for a reply Chuck pushed past Sarah, with a hint more force than would be expected from him, and left the Orange Orange. Pursing her lips, Sarah wondered what happened. As she reviewed Chuck's exact words, it hit her, he said I not we, I.

Swiftly, she tore down the steps of Castle and burst into the briefing room to find both Shaw and Casey in an animated conversation. Both men ignored Sarah's abrupt entrance and continued their argument.

"The kid's not ready." Casey growled.

"He is ready, it is time to see how good he is ever going to get." Shaw reasoned.

"He barely became a spy." Casey protested.

"He's already as good as we are and you know it."

"But-but he's not cut out for spy work."

"Only because we're coddling him, we have to let him grow, he could one day be the best."

Sarah decided it was time to fully assess the situation. "Chuck's going somewhere?" she asked in a tone that demanded an answer.

"On a mission, alone." Shaw answered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. It seemed that these words were not unfamiliar to Shaw, if she had to guess she would say that his actions implied that he was tired of constantly repeating them.

"Wh- Why"

"Because he's ready."

Seeing that this verbal joust was at a standstill and every second she was here Chuck was getting further away, she ended the heated argument and left. Inside her car, she contemplated where Chuck would have chosen to go. She was playing a dangerous game now, juggling her lies to Hannah while at the same time desperately scouring for a way to keep Chuck in Burbank. Everything threatened to fall apart should Chuck decide to pay Hannah a little visit.

Got to stop that from happening, she thought slyly before tearing down the road towards god knows where.

Over at Hannah's house: Hannah was strewn all over her bed, a mess of disjointed limbs. That phone call hurt more than a bullet. All feeling and emotion had long dissolved away to emptiness, nothing but stone-cold emptiness. Thinking back to the last time she felt this empty, she was brought back to the first time she met Chuck. At that point in her life, her job was everything to her, which unsurprisingly led to getting fired being the equivalent of death. That plane ride to Paris to collect her belongings was the pivot in her life. The first glimpse of that curly haired, James Bond wannabe, readjusted her focus on the world. From then on her job, or last job, lost all significance. He gave her something new to focus on, something to strive towards, something to live for.

This again led to getting dumped being the second worst thing she had ever felt, the first being now. To exacerbate the theatricality of the moment it was the night that she was introducing him to her parents. She returned to the dinner unaffected of course, she was too headstrong to allow Chuck to see how much he affected her. But once home, her mental stronghold collapsed, it took her a full day of mulling over him to recover. She quit her job at the Buy More using the computer and changed her address, phone number and any other means of finding her. She basically disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Falling back on a job offer she received previously, she was content with never seeing Chuck again. But of course, this train of thought quickly crumbled under how much she missed him. Which is why one faithful day, she went back to find him, ready to give him a piece of her mind when she saw how pitiful he looked. He was slaving under the hot sun trying to hail a taxi and the image allayed all of her pent up anger. She went from livid to peaceful in a second flat.

The drive home was cruel, she spent the whole time trying her best to ignore him but he being the perfect guy he was desperately tried to build up a conversation. Although her heart yearned for that, her pride would not allow it and she crushed any attempts to establish a connection with cold, aloof one word answers.

And now, look at her; she was a sight for sore eyes. Lying disheveled on her bed crying her eyes out. He seemed so earnest when he met her, so eager to join the cut ends of their relationship in a new bond, one that would never break. And then he had to go get back with his ex.

A knock resonated from the door and reverberated throughout the room. Hannah's eyes briefly turned to the door but then quickly resumed their 'admiring' of the ceiling. What was the point of answering, she reasoned, it was not as if Chuck was at the door to win her back. And even then, would she take him back? As angry and hurt as she was, she knew the answer to that question, yes…

Another knock came, louder this time more demanding of attention. Hannah continued to ignore it as she had. Then as if fate had planned it, Chuck's voice sounded from behind the door. "Hannah are you in there? I need to talk to you." he called.

She wanted to scream at him to leave her alone. He had hurt her enough for a lifetime let alone a day. But try as she might, no harsh words could escape her mouth when targeted at him. She decided to indulge his wants one final time before really disappearing off the face of the Earth.

Slowly, she creaked the door open, just a silver just enough to get a peek of him. "Hannah," he seemed relieved that she had answered, happy even. "We need to talk can I come inside?"

Her gaze lowered to what she was wearing, a crumpled old pair of pajamas that were stained with line after line of tears. But then again, there was no point trying to look good in front of him anymore, he was taken, taken by a blond goddess. So after a moment of pondering Hannah nodded and opened the door fully. He stepped in quickly as if afraid that he had been followed. After he was inside, though, the tension seeped out of his body and he relaxed.

"Hannah thanks I just wa – what happened to you?" Chuck exclaimed after getting a good look at Hannah's attire.

'"You happened," Hannah answered truthfully.

"Me? What did I do?"

"You came back with your irresistible niceness and knocked me head over heels before taking my heart and incinerating it." seethed Hannah vehemently.

"What? Okay I admit that I had hopes of winning you back and if this is about what I said back at the Marriot then I'm sorry."

"The Marriot, wh-what are you talking about? I am referring to you getting back with Sarah."

"Sarah? What's she got to do with this?" asked Chuck befuddled.

"Everything, wow Chuck I never figured you to be the player type. Especially not after those heartfelt words you gave me. But really Chuck how long did you think you could hide it from me?"

By now Chuck was starting to feel the sting of Hannah's words and he reciprocated it. "Player? What are you talking about?" Chuck was almost screaming by now.

"You are back with Sarah, don't try to deny it. I heard it straight from the horse's mouth." Hannah was pleasantly surprised by how well the idiom fit.

"Me and Sarah are just friends, if you don't believe it ask Ellie!" Chuck tossed his hands up in frustration. Hannah still brimming with fury whipped her handphone out and called the elder Bartowski.

"Hello?" Ellie asked cheerily.

"Hi, Hannah here, I just wanted to check on how things with Sarah were going with Chuck."

"Oh, not too good I'm afraid. Chuck still hasn't taken her back."

Ellie's words hit Hannah like a sledge hammer. Chuck was not with Sarah! Without bothering to bid her farewell, Hannah ended the call and looked at Chuck. The moment Hannah took to call Ellie allowed Chuck to cool off, and he now looked back at Hannah fondly.

"But then, Sarah said that you two were back together…" Hannah trailed off as Sarah appeared at her doorway. Speak of the devil; again Hannah chuckled at the pertinence of the idiom.

"Sarah, you told Hannah that we were back together? Why?" Chuck asked softly.

"I-I can we do this another time please?" Sarah pleaded.

"I'll just give you two a minute," Hannah added. She was not sure she could handle what was going to come out of either of their mouths. She was simply too fragile at that point of time.

"Hannah, you don't have to-"Chuck began, his words immediately resuming their soft tone.

"No Chuck, I want to. Just call me when you've sorted this whole thing out."

Reluctantly, Chuck released his grip on Hannah's hand and allowed her to depart. Then, once she was out of earshot, he turned back to face Sarah. Anger and rage were oozing out of him by now, he was beyond furious.

Reining the anger in, he muttered, "Why?"

"Because I love you Chuck, and we were meant to be together. I don't understand why you even want her back anyway; it's not as if you guys could ever be together." Sarah's words stung more than Chuck liked to admit.

"Leave…" he said simply. Sarah realizing her tone immediately tried a different approach.

"No please don't drive me away, can't we talk about this?"

"There's nothing left to talk about."

"Yes there is Chuck." Sarah insisted. She then pounced onto Chuck and began smothering him in kisses, hoping to kiss the anger out of him.

"Stop." Chuck ordered. Physically he did nothing to halt her onslaught but his words were enough. Chuck had never been this angry at her before. Even Sarah had to admit she felt the emotion behind his word. All was truly lost.

Climbing off him, she retreated a distance away. Chuck without bothering to look at her, twisted to leave. "At least Jill turned good at the end." he spat.

Sarah broke down; to him she was worse than Jill. There was no way for her to sink lower; she had reached the epitome of disregard for Chuck. He no longer cared about her. To him, she was worse than the criminals they put away.

Quickly, he sprinted down to Hannah. Hannah hearing the thunderous footsteps turned to face him just in time for his lips to merge with hers. She reveled in the taste that had eluded her for so long. It was intoxicating. If not for the need for air, she would have probably never detached her lips from his.

This gesture was enough; it settled all misgivings between them. Chuck had always been more of an action man anyways. However he did opt to say a few more words.

"What's your favorite country?"


End file.
